Top 5 Safest Hybrids
Autoblog Green, the environmentally friendly counterpart to Autoblog, crunched some numbers to come up with the 5 safest hybrid vehicles on the road. The results were as follows :
- Toyota Camry Hybrid with SAB
- Honda Civic Hybrid
- Ford Escape Hybrid
- Mercury Mariner Hybrid
- Toyota Prius with SAB
The Prius, the most fuel efficient car on that list, comes in last for safety? Ouch. Well, that is, until you look a little deeper. See, Autoblog Green didn’t really do what I’d call a truly comprehensive safety evaluation. See, the ratings are based solely on crash-test scores. Granted, crash test scores are extremely important, and it’s a bit sad that the Prius scored so low in that regard. That’s not to say it didn’t do well, it’s just that it’s competition did better.
The biggest problem I have is that rollover ratings were ignored, since they weren’t readily available for every vehicle on the list. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to think it’s safe to say that the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid have a much higher risk of rollover than does a Prius or Civic Hybrid.
Another flaw is that they considered the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid as separate models – something I wouldn’t have done. There are no mechanical differences between the two vehicles – only slight sheetmetal differences, which have no impact on safety.
I like Autoblog Green, and I’ve been a reader for about as long as I can remember. However, this is a case where numbers can be misleading, and can say pretty much whatever you want them to say, if you put the right spin on them.
Filed under: Safety
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